The Legend of Zelda: Threads of Fate
by MattyJ
Summary: Sixty seven years after the Hero of Time defeated Ganon, a new legion works to unleash him from the shackles of the Sacred Realm. Meanwhile, this new faction, the Dark Rebirth, plans to overrun the Hyrule throne and place their current leader on top. The people of Hyrule have turned to the Goddesses, pleading for a new hero to rise up and defeat the Dark Rebirth. LinkxZelda. R
1. Prologue

_**The Legend of Zelda: Threads of Fate**_

**Prologue**

Link and Zelda heard movement from within the castle ruins. She latched onto his arm in worry. Link's expression darkened.

How could this be? The King of Evil had just been slain and was left atop his crumbling tower. Nobody could've survived that.

Unless…

Link removed Zelda from his arm and began to walk towards the location of the noise. As he got closer, he realized that he should probably have his sword and shield drawn. Months of trekking through dungeons and slaying enemies had honed his senses and abilities. Whatever was in there, he was as ready as he could be. "Be careful, Link!" Navi hummed lightly. She followed closely to him, floating softly behind his head. Link remained silent.

He took a few more steps before hearing another noise. His instincts forced him to raise his shield in defense. After assuring the area was "all clear," he proceeded. Sweat was dripping off of his face. He thought to himself "please let this be over."

Link made it to the edge of the castle ruins. He surveyed the area quickly, and then looked back towards Zelda in confusion.

Suddenly, flames surrounded the castle ruins and separated Zelda from Link. He rushed towards her but the flames were too tall, too hot. He turned around just in time to witness Ganondorf emerge from the ruins of his tower. He was breathing heavily.

With one final scream, Ganondorf unleashed the power of his Triforce, thus transforming him into his true form. The way his body morphed disgusted Link. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Upon completion, Ganondorf now took on the form of an enormous pig-beast. He was anything but human. The newly transformed Ganon wielded two massive swords. Each one was ten times the size of Link. Ganon stepped towards him and unleashed a lethal swing at Link's head. Link, in self-defense, raised the Master Sword to block the attack. He was successful, but the force of the blow threw the blade from his hand, causing it to land at Zelda's feet. Link got up from off the ground and stared into the eyes of the Evil King.

Navi floated around his head. "There's no way he's holding me back again! This time, we fight together!"

On that note, Link quickly unsheathed his Biggoron Sword and rolled between Ganon's legs. He appeared behind him, but Ganon swiftly turned around, knocking Link over with his tail. The wind was knocked out of Link. He couldn't breathe. Ganon approached him rapidly, preparing for a lethal blow.

Navi flew into Link's hat. "Watch out!" Link quickly rolled out of the way. The battle had just begun and he was already panting. Not only was the King of Darkness trying to kill him, but lightning bolts were also igniting the battlefield. Link managed to find some rubble and hide underneath it. Luckily, Ganon hadn't seen him. The Dark Lord began searching for the Hero of Time. He was ripping rubble off the ground viciously and with each piece he tore through, a horrifying screech from Zelda followed. Link only had a minute, maybe only seconds, before Ganon discovered his location. He had to think fast.

Thankfully, the months of rummaging through dungeons and clashing with temple bosses had left his mind keen. Link instantly thought of the Light Arrows he received from Zelda before she was taken by Ganondorf. "They are enchanted with pure light energy… so shouldn't they repel dark energy?" Link prayed he was right. He counted to three before rushing out from his shelter.

One…

Ganon's footsteps neared.

Two…

The pig-beast hurled his sword into the rubble… and half of Link's shelter was destroyed. The strike had missed him by just a few inches…

Three!

Link sprang out from behind his cover, gripping his bow tightly. He got a firm look on his target then readied an arrow for departure. He pulled the arrow back, closing one eye in the process.

"Please Goddesses."

He released.

The arrow whizzed through the air, following the path Link had hoped for right into the skull of his target…

Bullseye.

Ganon shrieked in agony as the light energy paralyzed his body. Now was the time to strike. Link rushed towards Ganon with his Biggoron Sword in hand. "Link! The tail! Hit his tail!" Link quickly moved to strike his foe's tail. With all his might Link unleashed a devastating blow to the Evil King. The rush of pain was enough to knock Ganon out of paralysis, and he continued to pursue the boy in green. Link realized that he'd probably have to repeat this process four or five times. He did so with each time following the other being more difficult.

After five forceful attacks Ganon let his guard down, allowing the flames to vanish momentarily. Link took this narrow opportunity to re-retrieve the Blade of Evil's Bane, the Master Sword. Without it, Ganon would never be defeated. For the few moments that he was there, Zelda managed to get her two cents in.

"He's getting tired. Use the legendary blade to defeat him and end this seven year war!" She looked at him with pleading eyes. Link returned the gaze. He would not fail his princess… his country.

Link turned and stampeded towards his weakened foe. Ganon was just getting up when a light arrow came smashing into his face again. The pain from it engulfed his body leaving him motionless. The Hero of Time rushed to his tail and unleashed his entire might into each swing of his blade. The Dark Lord screamed in agony as the blade's powers cut into more than his tail. It cut straight into his dark aura, his energy.

Ganon managed to pick himself up for a few moments, but was quickly struck down by another light arrow. The Hero of Time couldn't miss. Instead of running around the beast this time, Link ran right over him, using the top of his head as a stepping stone to deliver a fatal blow to the beast's tail. The Master Sword cut clean through the tail, leaving traces of blood on the ground. Ganon stayed down this time but he continued to pant heavily. The flames fell again and this time Zelda ran into the battlefield. She began mustering her magic power, preparing for an attack. While Zelda was doing this though, Ganon's right hand began to glow with the power of the Triforce. A dark light blinded Zelda and Link, yet, nothing happened.

Zelda unleashed a wave of pure light energy into the Evil King.

"Now Link! Deliver the final blow!"

Link didn't hesitate. He ran up to his enemy and unleashed three lethal strikes before delivering a fatal stab into Ganon's head. The Dark Lord sprang to his feet in pure torment. Zelda called upon the six sages, as well as her own power, to seal away the King of Evil. Within a few moments, Ganon was gone from the battlefield and was sealed away in the Sacred Realm.

It was over.

Link ran over to pick up Zelda who had fallen to her knees just after sealing Ganon away. He helped her up and walked with her towards a familiar blue portal in the center of the arena. Some things never change.

Link and Zelda conversed in the Sacred Realm, arguing over whether he should be sent back in time or not. In the end, Zelda sent Link to the Temple of Time to place the Master Sword to rest and fully live his childhood.

Link walked into the temple he came to call home as an adult, heading past the alter with the Spiritual Stones. He moved to the back of the Temple of Time and prepared his sword. It was time to end things once and for all.

But just as Link raised the blade over his head, he felt something thrust through his back. Link dropped the Master Sword. It clanged on the stone floor. He fell to his knees, feeling cold from the inside out. A dark, shadowy figure came into his view and introduced himself.

He laughed. "Did you seriously believe that the all-powerful Ganon would've gone down so easily?" the dark figure moved to meet Link's fading eyes.

Link mustered the strength to say one last word. "…How…?" Sadis burst out in a deep laugh. "Well boy, looks like you aren't as smart as you look!" The figure grabbed Link's jaw.

"I am Sadis. In other words, I am a part of Ganon himself." He released his grip on Link's jaw and kicked him to the ground. Sadis turned his back to Link. "Remember that dark, blinding light that you and your princess saw?" he turned his head. "That was me." Sadis began to walk towards Link again. The hero's lungs were failing. He could hardly breathe.

"All I need is the full Triforce and I'll be able to release my Master from the Sacred Realm!" Sadis burst out in another laughing fit. He kneeled by Link's side. "… And you have just what I need!" Sadis' hand darted towards Link's left hand, but just before he could obtain the Triforce of Courage, it vanished.

The New Dark Lord dropped Link's dead hand. It began to shake.

"No… this can't be! Where could it have gone!?" Sadis' anger began to shake the Temple of Time. "HOW CAN THIS BE!? NOW I HAVE TO FIND THE NEW WIELDER!" Sadis screamed relentlessly, causing the ceiling to come crashing down, crumbling the Temple of Time…

The Triforce of Courage has selected a new wielder… one generation into the future…

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A/N: Please tell me if you're interested. I tried to give you enough about Sadis without completely telling you who he is. Reviews are greatly appreciated! Every ounce of support and criticism helps me get chapters out faster! Thank you!


	2. The Conversation

_**The Legend of Zelda: Threads of Fate**_

A/N: Just letting you all know, this fanfiction is already a full-length movie on my YouTube channel, xMatthew13. If you do watch the movie, it'll spoil some aspects of this story. I'm writing this fanfiction mainly because I want to be able to tell the story I had originally intended to through that movie. This'll be much more thorough, longer, and will have several key differences. You can look at the movie as sort of an outline of this story. If you still want to watch it, go right ahead! Just please don't post spoilers in any reviews! Thank you!

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**Chapter 1: The Conversation**

The air was cool this morning. It had been raining the night before so the ground was wet as well. The surrounding trees of the Kakariko Forest were damp and dripping. Fado, a young adult in the Hylian Army, was on patrol early in the morning. Fado stood at about 6 feet, had dark skin, black hair, and a few scars across his face. The war hadn't been easy on him, or his family, but he managed to survive.

He continued through the thick forest on his route. It was the same thing every day. Wake up, head out to the graveyard, relieve the night guy of his duty, and patrol the forest until noon. That's when he got his lunch break. Fado found the trunk of a fallen tree and decided to rest for a moment. The pay was small, but it was still money nonetheless. His family had always been poor and with his father farming all day and his mother tending to his little sister, he was their only constant source of income. He'd help his father on the days he didn't have work, but they'd been having trouble lately. Nobody could afford the prices of common crops anymore. With the Dark Rebirth threatening to overrun Hyrule Castle, all resources had to go to the army. Fado and his family understood this, but it was still frustrating.

Fado decided to stop worrying about the political issues and continued on his route. Only two more hours until break… great.

The young soldier found nothing interesting during his patrol. From time to time, he'd catch a glimpse of some Dark Rebirth soldiers passing by. Their presence in the forest had grown over the past few months. Fado believes it's because the woods are so close to the castle. Whenever he saw them he'd have to quickly sneak away and warn the villagers that they were nearby. The Dark Rebirth had never really given them difficulty… except when they ki-

"FADO!"

Fado snapped back to reality. "Which way did that come from?" he thought to himself.

The man called again, this time from a closer distance. "FADO! Come on, it's time for our break!" Fado sighed with relief. Thank the Goddesses. Any longer and he might've died of boredom. Fado took off to find his partner. He stopped at the top of a tall rock. Fado smirked and took out his bow.

Fado's partner walked below him, unaware of his friend's presence. This young man stood at about 5' 10", had shaggy blonde hair, strong blue eyes, and the lightest amount of facial hair. He was also well built due to his years in the service. He wore a gray long-sleeve shirt with loose green pants and brown boots. He carried a medium sized blade attached the hip on his belt.

Fado readied the arrow, waiting for the perfect opportunity. "Come on… just a little closer." He walked towards him as if he was instructed to. After planting his foot, he felt the texture on the ground change. Before he could realize what he was standing on, he heard the sound of an arrow cutting through the air. He sighed. "Not again..."

Fado's arrow cut through a small string a few feet from his friend's feet. Cutting the string resulted in the setting off of the animal trap he'd been standing on, and he was now suspended in the air by his right foot.

Fado burst out in laughter. He loved playing pranks on his friend. All while Fado was busting a gut, his friend simply hung upside down for a few minutes. He was used to it by now. "I got you good, Link!" Fado continued laughing.

"Yeah, yeah. You better get me down if you want to eat today. Remember what happened the last time you did this?" Link made no attempt to get out of his situation. There was no need to. Fado would have to come and get him down. The guards only let you go on break if your partner checked in with you.

Fado suddenly stopped laughing. Link was right. He rushed down the rocks to untie his friend. Link was expecting him to take the time to unweave the knot, but Fado decided that cutting the rope with his knife would be a lot faster. His dagger tore through the rope, thus making Link fall on the top of his back. "Dammit Fado!" Link lay on the ground rubbing his back. "You couldn't've saved me the pain?"

"Nope! Gotta go! Come on!" Before Link could even respond Fado was sprinting off to the entrance of the Forest a half mile away. Link got up slowly, still rubbing his back, and started jogging after him. When Link emerged from the forest, he caught his friend pleading with one of the guards to let him hold their spot in line. Link walked up to him and took him away before he got himself in trouble. "Don't you know better than to argue with the guards?" Link and Fado were walking towards the end of the line.

"Hey, they should at least allow somebody to hold a place in line!" Link knew better than to argue with him. He didn't have the energy for it today. He'd been having trouble sleeping the past few nights. The struggles of life were taking their toll on him. Fado continued to ramble on, but Link didn't pay him any attention. After threatening to teach the guards a lesson, Fado finally realized that Link wasn't listening to him.

"Earth to Link!" Fado waved his hand in front of Link's face rapidly. "Come back to reality!" Link finally heard him this time. "Huh? What was that? Sorry." Link blinked his eyes a few times in confusion of what just happened. "Everything okay? You seem kinda-" Fado stopped briefly before a devious grin spread across his face. "It's your girl isn't it?"

"What? No!" Fado could see him getting redder and redder by the second. "Come on, Fado. You know that there's nothing between us." Link huffed and turned to wait in line silently. Fado chuckled a bit and shrugged. They'd been waiting in line for around 15 minutes now. At this rate, there wouldn't be any food left. "Let's go!" Fado was getting impatient. Now he regretted pulling that little stunt on Link. "This is what happens when you fool around. We both pay the price." Link continued to look ahead. They were next in line now.

The two retrieved their food and set a course towards Fado's house. Link's "house" was more like a single room hut, so they decided to head to the more spacious of the two options. They had two hours off, and Link usually spent them sleeping. He was a pretty lazy guy and enjoyed resting when he could. After work he'd go home and work on the small farm he owned. Since the death of his parents, Link had been all alone. Sure he had Fado and some of his other friends, but it wasn't the same. Each day consisted of either guarding the forest or tending to his crops. Link would go out on Sundays to the market to trade his goods for money. He kept a few to himself so he could eat that week. The people of Kakariko tried to offer him money and food, but Link would never accept it. If he did, he'd feel as if he would owe them all something in return and he knew that he couldn't offer much. All Link had to his name was a few sets of clothes, a small one room house, his farm, and a few mementos given to him by his parents. He couldn't offer money or food, and he definitely couldn't part with his mementos, so he'd be taking and not giving back if he accepted. Link couldn't accept that. Link is a self-made man, even if he doesn't have much.

The two finally arrived at Fado's family home. The house was medium sized with four bedrooms, a kitchen, and living area. When they were younger, Fado's parents had Link stay at their place. Link's parents had died when he was only eight years old so they took it upon themselves to watch over him until he was old enough to support himself. Upon turning sixteen, Link moved out and got his own place. Link was basically family to them and would celebrate holidays and birthdays with them yearly. It'd been three years since he moved out, but it still felt like home to him.

"Mom? Saria?" Fado looked around for his family. He shrugged. "Must be out at the market. Let's go to my room. We can eat there and talk in private." Fado was determined to figure out what was wrong with Link. He had noticed his friend had been kind of down lately, so he needed to know what was up. "Private? What for?" Link, now confused, followed Fado down the hallway and into his room. Fado waited for him to get all the way in before shutting the door. Link sprawled himself out on Fado's bed and began to tear into his fried cucco. He washed it all down with some water.

"So… what's going on?" Fado rarely got serious. He was typically a pretty carefree guy. He only got serious when he knew something important was going on, and he could tell there was _something_ going on with Link.

"Ummm… lunch?" Link answered confusedly. He kept hacking into his meal. "You can't keep this from me, man. I know something's up. I can tell when you're upset!" Fado was standing now. "Now, tell me what's been bothering you." Fado's eyes tore through Link. Link knew he couldn't keep it in any longer.

Link sighed heavily. "Fine…" He places his plate and cup on the floor next to the bed, wiped his hands on his uniform, and adjusted himself. "It is about Zelda." Link answered in defeat. His head now slouched.

"I knew it!" Fado sat back down. "What about her?" Fado was extremely curious now. It was crazy enough that they were both friends with the Princess of Hyrule, but the fact that Link might have a chance with her? Wow.

"That's the thing… I don't know." Link sighed again. "She's been so distant lately… like, she doesn't seem as excited to see me every week. We'd been getting so close too! I practically had her telling me the secrets of the Royal Family! But then, something happened… and I don't know what. It's making me crazy!" Link flailed his arms in anger and stood up. He couldn't sit. Not while he was this frustrated.

Fado sat there pondering everything Link had just said. He decided to start questioning him. "Did she tell you anything that may have been disconcerting to her? Like, the war is getting worse or her father is in danger?"

"Both of those things are already true, Fado." Link was completely lost. What was he going to do? He's been head over heels for the princess since he met her. He knew it was wrong too. How could a farm boy be with the _Princess of Hyrule_? The fact is he couldn't. Her father, the King of Hyrule, would have her married off to some rich suitor. He turned to look out the window.

"...who was with her when she visited these past few times?" Fado felt like he was onto something. His detective skills had always been good, and he believed he had a solid lead on why Zelda was acting this way. "Umm… her friend Mal-" Link halted immediately, suddenly putting all the pieces together. He whipped around from the window. "Dammit!" Link wasn't just frustrated, now he was angry. "Malon hates me! She's always had it out for me. How am I going to talk to Zelda if Malon's feeding her lies about me?"

"Link, sit down and relax for a moment. Let me think about this." Link did as his friend instructed. He sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh and picked up his plate. Meanwhile, Fado had gotten up from his chair and started pacing. "I got it!" Link snapped to attention. "The next time she comes by, which will be in-" He stopped to think. "Two days." Link replied instantly. He always knew how long it was until he could see her again. He knew it seemed creepy, but he couldn't help it. "Right, two days. I'm going to distract Malon and while she's off with me, you go talk to Zelda." Fado felt like a genius.

"But… what if she won't talk to me?" Fado hadn't thought of that one. Before answering, another question came to his mind. "Why does Malon 'hate' you, Link?" Link sighed again. He'd been doing a lot of that lately. "She hates me because I turned her down a few years back." Fado started laughing. "No way! She's just jealous?" Fado was loving this. His boy Link has himself caught in a little love triangle. "Yup. She's probably told Zelda about how 'mean I was to her' and 'how I lead her on' and such." Link used air quotes to make fun of Malon. She was being ridiculous. It had been two years since he did it! It was just his luck that right as things were getting good with Zelda, she and Malon would become friends.

Fado calmed himself down. "Okay… change of plans then. Instead of you talking to Zelda, I'm going to."

"No! You're going to say something completely idiotic!" Link's known Fado for a long time and he knows how bad Fado is at talking to girls. He always makes things worse. Link remembered one time, when they both went to Castle Town, Fado went up to about six women and asked if they had plans later. He just didn't get women. Link, on the other hand, did. He was always able to talk with Zelda. Well, up until recently that is.

"Link… hear me out. I'm just going to tell her that you've felt worried about you guys' friendship. I won't mention anything about you being in love with her, okay?" Fado, once again, felt like a genius. "I'm not in love with her! I just like her, alright" Link's ears reddened again. Love Zelda? Was that okay? "Sure you do, buddy. Now, let's finish up and bring our plates back to the mess hall. Our second shift is going to start in a little bit!" And on that note, Fado continued to tear through his cucco. Link, on the other hand, wasn't that hungry but he knew he needed to eat.

They brought their plates back and were assigned their final positions for the day. Fado was to stand guard at the village gate until sundown. After that, the night guy would take over. Link was told to head back into the forest and run a few sweeps of the perimeter. Nothing too difficult. The two grabbed their gear and made their way to their positions. Fado let out a sigh. "Another six hours of nothing, here I come."

Link walked on into the forest again and made his way to the edge of the Kakariko Forest. Anything past the edge was Goron territory. The Hyrulean races were somewhat divided now due to the presence of the Dark Rebirth. Nobody knew whether a visitor was with the Dark Rebirth or not. After about an hour of trekking, Link sat down on a tall rock to think. He sat there for over an hour thinking about Zelda and what he was going to do about the situation. He eventually decided that Fado's plan is probably the best solution, even if he didn't like it. Link didn't like letting other people control his fate. He wanted to be the one pulling the threads.

Just as Link was about to get up, he heard some chatter below him. He couldn't decipher what they were saying, but he knew they weren't guards. They wore long black robes and sported white masks. he'd seen these people before… they were members of the Dark Rebirth. Link quickly lowered himself and readied his blade. What were they doing so close to the village? Link's heart raced as they turned towards the village. Suddenly, three other men joined them. Now there were five. Before Link knew it, they had taken off towards the village.

Link thought to himself. "What're they doing? We have way more guards then they do soldiers, what do they expect to-" Link's heart stopped.

He whispered to himself. "… it's a stealth mission…"

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A/N: Well, I hoped you enjoyed the first real chapter! I tried to tell you as much as I could without giving anything too important away. Next chapter should be out just after Christmas! Read and review! Thank you!


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